


Cracked Foundation

by fictive_frolic



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Domestic, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-10
Updated: 2019-12-10
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:54:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21745597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fictive_frolic/pseuds/fictive_frolic
Summary: Tony doesn't know how to parent his own kid. Other people's kids are fine, but his? What are rules?
Relationships: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

“Tony you’re going to be late,” Pepper scolded. The genius in question looked up and sighed, glancing at the digital clock on the wall, “It’s not like I’ve ever been on time before.”

‘It’s Christmas Eve, Tony,” Pepper sighed, exasperated, “And she’s rearranged all of her flights just to come meet you. Because you asked. The least you can do is be on time.” Tony looked around and sighed, “Fine, fine. It’s not like I can’t just put her on a private plane.”

Pepper glanced at Bruce who was trying not to listen in and smiled a little sadly. It was a yearly struggle. If pepper didn’t know better she’d think Tony didn’t want to go. That he didn’t obsess about what he was going to wear and what he was going to say. Pepper walked away from the lab getting ready to call you. Getting ready to apologize and stall you.

At least she was going to. Until her phone started to ring. “Pepper Potts,” she answered.

“Hey, Pepper,” you answer, “Is dad coming or can I go catch my flight?”

Pepper sighed, “He’s coming, please don’t go. Not yet.”

“Pepper, I’m sorry. I can’t stay. I’ve got to go,” you tell her. She hears your voice crack and her own heart twists. “Please,” Pepper pleaded quietly, “Give him a chance? Just one.”

“Pep,” you say sounding defeated, “I gave him my whole life… Tell him all I want for Christmas… You know what? Don’t even tell him that. I don’t want anything. I just… Tell him Merry Christmas I guess. Take care of yourself, Pepper.”

Pepper feels tears sting the backs of her eyes as the line goes dead and she pinches the bridge of her nose, taking a deep breath. “Merry Christmas, kiddo,” she says to the empty air. “JARVIS?” she says a little louder.

“Yes, Miss Potts?” comes a voice out of the air. 

“Please let me know when Y/N boards her plane and when it lands,” she says, starting up the hall, “And make sure her tuition gets paid.”

“Of course, Miss Potts,” JARVIS says in response.

That done, she bustled up the hall quietly, heels clicking efficiently. 

_______________

“Tony,” Bruce starts.

“Yes?” he says looking up from his computer.

“Don’t you have a dinner date?” he asks.

Tony nodded, “Yeah,” he said, “In 30 minutes.”

“Tony,” Bruce scolds, “It takes you an hour just to get dressed.”

“It isn’t that kind of thing,” Tony said, “It’s just seeing my daughter.”

“How old is she?” Bruce asked treading carefully. He’d seen rumors in tabloids for years that this kid or that kid was secretly Tony’s.

“Fifteen,” Tony answered.

The other man nodded, “That’s the age, isn’t it?” 

Tony nodded, “Yeah. I mean. She spends most of the year on the road with her mom’s band so… I guess college isn’t gonna be that much of a change for her.”

Bruce glanced at the clock and back at Tony, “Shouldn’t you get going?”

Tony glances at the clock and sighs, “Yeah. I guess.”

“You aren’t excited at all?” Bruce asked, “It’s not like you’ve seen her this year.”

“I keep tabs,” Tony said walking out of the lab, shrugging into a jacket. 

Bruce watched him go and shook his head. It wasn’t his business but, it seemed like Tony wasn’t as okay with the arrangement as he seemed. 

_______

Tony stood in the restaurant, at the table you were supposed to be sitting at. There was nothing but a chair slightly pushed out, a rumpled cloth napkin, and a half-finished soda. He sighed.

You’d never not waited before. You might have been irritated at him but you always waited. 15 minutes. He’d been 15 minutes away. He pulled out his phone and started to call you, listening as the phone rang twice and went straight to voice mail, “I could be dying!” he murmured, “C’mon, kid.” He dialed again and it didn’t even ring. “Fair,” he said nodding to himself, walking out, “I don’t want to speak to me either.”

The ride back was quiet. He didn’t play music. He didn’t even talk to JARVIS. There was a headache behind his eyes that throbbed viciously and all he wanted was a drink. And maybe a dark room to lay down in.

His car door slamming echoed in the quiet tower and Steve paused his wrench where he knelt tinkering with his bike, “That was a short dinner.”

Tony half shrugged, “Guess she got tired of waiting. She’s probably headed to Seattle by now.”

“What’s in Seattle?” Steve asked.

“A tour bus and a really anxious band,” he said, glad at least that you were going to see your mom for Christmas.

“Sorry, Stark,” Steve said sympathetically.

Tony shrugged, “It’s for the best, honestly. We ran out of shit to talk about when she was 8.”

Steve sat and stared for a second. He couldn’t imagine Tony not having something to say. About anything. Tony didn’t seem to notice, he was scrolling through his phone quietly, frowning to himself as he disappeared into the elevator.

________

“Did she tell you what she wants for Christmas?” Tony asked, sprawling carelessly on a couch as he loosened his tie.

Pepper shook her head, “Just told me to tell you she said “Merry Christmas” and hung up,” she answered. 

Tony felt his eyebrows raise, “That’s it?”

“That’s it,” She said smiling sadly. 

Tony felt like he’d been punched in the stomach. You’d never asked for much. Not really. A small new piece of tech sometimes when what you had was outdated. New books fro your e-reader. Money for the trips you wanted to take. Never ponies or cars. Not even nice clothes. Most of the things you wore came from thrift stores. it had been the one way he knew how to connect with you. To give you whatever you had asked for, no questions asked. It had been what his father had done, just handed him to a nanny and given him toys. 

He didn’t know how to deal with someone not wanting anything from him. Not one thing.

“Tony-” Pepper started.

“No,” Tony said, shaking his head, “It’s fine. I’ll just send her a new phone and see if she wants to go anywhere.”

“Miss Potts,” JARVIS said, “Miss Y/N’s plane has boarded but she is not aboard.”

Tony felt cold, “Where’d she go?” he barked.

“I have no further information, Sir,” Jarvis said.

Pepper and Tony exchanged a look and before armor covered Tony’s body and he blasted out of the roof. 

________

“Look,” you sigh, “If you want information I don’t have it.”

The man in the suit that you vaguely recognized as someone your dad knew laughed, leaning casually against the counter, “Oh my dear,” he purrs, “I already know you can’t tell me anything. I don’t want what you don’t know. I want Stark to know there’s no where I can’t get to you.”

“Oooh,” you snort, “snatching me out of an airport. So fucking hard. What’d you do? Plant a cabbie?”

He stepped forward and smacked you across the face, hard. Never losing his mild expression, “You better hope Daddy shows up to play ball,” he says, “Otherwise it’s going to be a very unhappy Christmas for Mommy in Seattle.” 

“What’d my mom ever do to you?” you ask, scowling, trying to get your hands free of the zip tie behind your back.

“Nothing,” he said, “She gave me the perfect bait. The perfect wat to get Tony Stark to come out and play.”

“Sure. Right,” you snort, “Pretty sure he’d not even notice.” 

Hammer leans over you and tilts your chin up, “You better hope he does,” he hums.

“Ever hear of tic tacs?” you ask popping your neck. When he smacks you across the face again, the sound of a metal warehouse wall collapsing is deafening.

“Alright,” Tony said, “Give me back my kid.”

“Huh,” you say to no one in particular, “He did notice.”

_____________

In the tower, you were keeping to yourself. An Avenger’s Christmas party was in full swing and the side of your face hurt. All you wanted was for your mom to show up so this could be over. 

Pepper was trying, bless her. There was Dr. Pepper and some vegetarian things to eat. She was also hanging near you, giving you a familiar face with Tony was busy drinking his feelings. “Your mom should be here soon,” she said softly. 

“Thanks, Pepper,” you say smiling a little despite the pain. It wasn’t the first time you’d been smacked like that. It was enough to make you wonder if men took “how to backhand” as a special elective at school.

“How’s the face?” Happy asked, proffering an icepack. 

“It’s fine,” you tell him, studiously trying not to notice your dad throwing an arm around Peter Paker’s shoulder. It stung in a way you couldn’t quite define. You weren’t jealous. It wasn’t an angry bitter feeling. It was a dull ache. A sense that nothing that had just happened really mattered. 

Pepper glanced at the scene and looked back at you trying not to look. Trying not to be scene. Trying not to take up any more room than you had to. “I’m gonna wait for mom outside. It’s really hot in here.”

Happy nor Pepper makes a move to stop you, watching you duck out of Rhodey’s way and slip out of a sliding glass door onto a terrace, taking a seat on a bench, sitting cross-legged. 

Pepper and Happy exchange a look with Rhodey. “Jealous?” Rhodey tried. 

“Hurt,” Pepper said softly, “Tony missed dinner. Again.”

“He was only 15 minutes late this time,” Happy said fairly. 

“That’s not the point, Happy,” Pepper said frowning., “It’s Christmas Eve… He should have been waiting. None of this should have happened.”

“Sir,” JARVIS said crisply, “Miss Jennifer is in the lobby.”

“Excellent,” Tony said, “Now it’s a party!”

____________

“Mom!” you yell, bolting into her arms. She smells like home. Opium incense and vanilla. Hairspray. Cigarettes and wintergreen gum. You want to cry but there are too many witnesses. She hugs you to her hard and frantically brushes hair out of your eyes. “Oh my god I was was so scared,” she said softly. 

“I’m okay,” you murmur, “I just want to go home. Please. I just want to go home.”

She looks over your shoulder at Tony, “What did you do?” she said levelly.

“Nothing, mom. He didn’t do anything. I just want to go home,” you protest, glancing at Pepper and begging her not to say anything silently. Pepper gave you a silent sympathetic look and nods slightly, something Jennifer doesn’t miss.

You pick up your knapsack and turn away, carefully dodging out of the hug Tony tried to give you. You don’t want to be touched. Your skin feels prickly and uncomfortable and you’re holding back tears with a very fragile veneer of indifference. “Y/N,” Jennifer said gently, “Wait in the car, huh? I want to make sure we have the holiday schedule down for the year.”

You nod and walk away, keeping your head down and pretending you don’t see Peter either. You can’t be mad at the kid. He’s really nice, honestly. And smart. He’s more like your dad than you could ever be. The kid he should have gotten. But, that doesn’t make it not hurt. 

Jennifer has a lot of things she wants to say. There’s bile churning in her stomach and it hurts. “I was going to ask you if she could finish school here. Give her a chance to actually go to school instead of woking from a lap top with some wifi,” she said, “But- you can’t even show up for dinner on time.”

“Jen,” Tony started, “I didn’t-”

“You didn’t think, you didn’t know, it’s not your fault,” she sighed, “Yeah. I’ve heard it all before.”

“Look,” he said, “I’d love to take her. It’s not like we don’t have room.

“Yeah,” Jen said, “sure. I’ll text you the schedule. You get her Birthday this year… Do me a favor? Don’t just drop her off somewhere.” She turns and follows you to the car, ready to get you back on the bus.


	2. Chapter 2

“Am I being punished?” you ask, blinking back tears, “Is that what this is?”

“No sweetheart,” Jennifer said holding up her hands, “It’s just. You’ve never lived with your dad before and... this new band. It’s not... Look. I can’t take you with me. Not this time.”

“So. I’m not little and cute anymore so I need to be someone else’s problem,” you bite out.

Jennifer recoiled like you slapped her and looked at Tony hoping for some support, “Kid, don’t talk to your mom like that,” he said, taking a deep breath. He’s always hated it when you cried. Jennifer told him doing it this way was a bad idea. But he insisted. He’d meet you both halfway. You could have dinner and talk. 

What he didn’t expect was for you to slide out of the booth and bolt. Just gone out of view of anyone else to take a moment to compose yourself. 

“Fuck me,” Jennifer groaned, “I really hate it when she’s right.”

“Right?” Tony asked arching an eyebrow.

“Look. This new band. They’re fine with how old I am. I just can’t look that old,” she sighed, “Having a 15-year-old kid in tow, however talented... I just. Look. She needs to be in real school anyway. And this is my chance. This could be my last chance to make all this bullshit mean something.”

Tony pinched the bridge of his nose, “So what you’re saying is, she has to come live with me whether she wants to or not?”

“Pretty much. She’s a kid Tony. A mature kid but still a kid. And she’s getting older. Growing into herself, you know?” There was a lot in that sentence Jennifer didn’t say but the look on her face said a lot. You were going to be blessed with curves that would make grown men into blithering idiots. Thanks to some killer genetics from your mother’s family. You might dress to hide it but there was only so much that could do. Tony knew from surveillance that there had already been a few moments. Someone had been there to help you, thank god, but as you got more independent, there wouldn’t be.

“So how are you gonna play this?” he asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

Jennifer sighed, “She’s going whether she wants to or not and she knows it. She’s not gonna put up a fight if we move her.”

“And you’re going to leave me to deal with the fallout?” Tony asked quirking an eyebrow.

“It’s your turn, Stark. I’ve dealt with the crying and skinned knees and school work her whole life. And she needs more stability than I can give her.”

“So be it, I guess,” he sighed. He knew there was no place for you to sleep tonight. Jennifer was already leaving to go meet with her new band. He looked towards the dark parking lot. You’d climbed up onto the hood of her car and you were staring at the sky like you were waiting for answers. Or a miracle. In your hands you held something. He couldn’t make out what it was, but you were clinging to it for dear fucking life.

______________

“No no,” Pepper scolded, “Not there. It blocks the view. Honestly.” The redhead tapped her foot and bossed people around the way only she could do. Sweet but direct. 

You sit on the bed trying to stay out of the way watching things being brought into your room. This is an insane amount of stuff and an even more insane amount of space. 

Pepper takes a seat next to you on the bed and tucks a lock of hair behind your ear tenderly, “Do you need a break? I could use a break.”

“I haven’t done anything, Pep.”

“So,” she laughed, “C’mon. there’s a really yummy ice cream place near here.”

“Pepper it’s okay, I know you’re busy. You don’t have to hang out with me, you have a whole company to run,” you tell her.

“And that’s why I need a break,” she said standing up and holding her hand out, “Come get ice cream with me?”

You smile a little and take her hand, letting her pull you off the bed and she throws an arm around you, “We’ll take a break then we’ll get your school uniform around.”

At the mention of school your stomach aches and you feel sick. You’ve not been to a school in three years. You’ve done it all online. “Where am I going?” you ask, feeling like you’re waiting for a death sentence to be handed out. 

“We- your dad found an art school for you,” she said, “A music program.”

You nod and wrap your arms around yourself, “They’re not gonna make me perform are they?”

“I’ve heard you play,” Pepper said, “You’re incredible. I just don’t understand why you can’t do performances.” She kisses your head.

“I don’t play for other people,” you murmur, swallowing hard. Just the thought of a performance made you nauseous. Even if it was just playing a violin part on an album for your mom.

Pepper slows down and scoops a waste paper basket out of a doorway and hands it to you, just a few seconds before you start gagging. Performing makes you anxious and anxiety makes you sick. It’s almost immediate. It always has been. Your first recital had been a nightmare. You’d frozen four notes in and bolted off the stage, throwing up on a stagehand and yourself trying to find a trashcan. After that the only way to hear you play was without you knowing you could be heard.

There’s nothing in your stomach to come up but that doesn’t mean you don’t have to spend a few minutes retching and dry heaving. Nat walks by and winces sympathetically, proffering water, “Sorry,” you murmur, taking the water and taking a drink, thankful that your hair is covering your face for the moment. 

“Icecream break,” Pepper explains, “Wanna come?”

The spy smiles a little, “Ooo, girl’s trip. I’m in.”

You put the water bottle in your bag and wrap your arms around yourself, trying to find some comfort. Some sense of normal. This was weird. It was all weird. You don’t see the look Pepper and Natasha trade over your head, focused resolutely on the floor and taking up as little space as possible. Feeling like a mouse scurrying around with giants and trying not to be stepped on.

You don’t even make it out of the building. Tony strolls over, “Pepper,” he calls, “Just the lady I was trying to find. Do you know where my speech notes are?” 

“Tony,” she says, “I’m a little busy right now.”

“No Pep, it’s okay. I can find a book,” you murmured, backing up slowly. Trying to take up less space. You slip away quickly after that, lost in the whirl of personalities. No one notices you and that’s how you like it. You slip away and it doesn’t take long to find a stairwell to sit in. It’s chilly but it’s quiet. It’s not in front of everyone and as long as you keep your hand over your mouth to muffle the sound you can cry for a minute. All you can do is cry right now. Albeit, alone where no one can see. Natasha watches you go and makes a mental note of it. Of how easily you can fade into the background. You’re the only kid in the building aside from Parker. And they always knew where Parker was. He was loud. Energetic. A puppy. They were going to have to keep a closer eye on you.

“Hey, where’s my kid,” Tony asked looking around.

“Stairwell,” Nat said jerking her head towards the door.

“Oh, of course, makes perfect sense,” he said strolling towards the door and walking through it.

You’re curled up on the steps, tucked out of the way. He can’t hear you making a sound but he can see what looks like you struggling to breathe. He doesn’t call out to you, he just climbs the few flights of stairs and sits across from you. 

You’re crying, he realizes. “Kid,” he says softly.

You jump and quickly try to pull yourself back together. wiping your face on your sleeve. “Hey dad,” you murmur, wiping your nose and taking a shaky breath.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Fine,” you tell him, not looking at him.

“You look fine,” he said nodding, “No emotional distress or teenage angst in sight. Perfectly fine.”

“Don’t you have world peace to privatize?” you murmur, resting your forehead on your knees.

“I do but you know. I’m kinda in the mood for Barbeque,” he said, trying to tempt you into coming with him.

“I’m vegetarian,” you snort, “But Happy is probably down.”

“Since when?” Tony protested.

“Since I was 9, dad,” you sigh. 

“Okay. So Salad?” he tries.


End file.
